


Underworld

by Stillreadingfanfictbh



Series: Solangelo One Shots [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:21:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29443272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stillreadingfanfictbh/pseuds/Stillreadingfanfictbh
Summary: Nico goes to the underworld to run away from his problems
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Will Solace, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: Solangelo One Shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2162733
Comments: 1
Kudos: 32





	Underworld

"Have you seen Nico?" Will asks Percy and Annabeth when he reaches the dining pavilion. They were only here for a weekend visit because it's the middle of a school year they aren't around camp that often. Annabeth and Percy are going to a mortal high school this year so that Percy can catch up a bit and they can have a little normalcy together after such a crazy year.

"No, why?" Annabeth asks. She holds her hand over her mouth when she speaks because her mouth is full of food; she's eating like she's never eaten before.

Will sighs. Nico has been leaving the camp a lot recently. He has been telling him it's because his father is calling him to the underworld and asking him to do things for him, Nico hasn't been specific. Will wonders if Nico is just using this as an excuse to leave camp - to leave Will. Nico has been gone for over a day now, though it isn't unusual for Nico to leave for a day or two at a time, it is unusual that Nico isn't back because Will and Nico had planned to kayak today. Will is wondering if Nico is avoiding him.

"No reason," Will says, choosing not to share his problems. Will decides that he should talk to Nico before making his worries public.

Percy and Annabeth stare at Will like they don't necessarily believe him, but they must know not to push it because they don't say anything else. Will just bids them goodbye before making his way to the Apollo table where Austin and Kayla are sitting. The three of them are the only people from Apollo cabin that stay year-round.

When Will sits down a dryad pops by and drops some food off for him and Will fills up his goblet with Sunny D. Will grumpily begins eating his food, not even bothering to greet his siblings.

"No sign of Nico then?" Kayla asks before taking a sip out of her own goblet.

Will just shakes his head and offers no other words. He continues to eat his food, taking his frustrations out on the chicken breast in front of him, cutting and stabbing it roughly.

"You don't think he's hurt do you?" Austin asks, his eyebrows creased together in concern. Nico has become close to Will's siblings, they consider each other friends. It's another thing that frustrates Will about Nico's increased trips to the underworld - he has friends now, why continue to spend so much time away when they could all be together having fun and making memories?

"No," Will says, shaking his head again, "he says that these tasks Hades assign him are never dangerous. He never comes back injured or anything."

If these tasks are as simple as Nico makes them seem, then why can't someone else do them? It's one of the reasons Will thinks Nico is just using these tasks as a reason to escape. Unless Nico is lying to Will about the task, and they are actually extremely dangerous and he doesn't want to worry Will. He doesn't think that's the case though, because when Nico comes back he doesn't look injured or roughed up.

All of this just supports Will's theory that Nico is avoiding him. Wills siblings must also think this because they give each other a look that Will can't necessarily decipher and say nothing else.

Nico doesn't make his way back to the land of the living until well after dinner. Will doesn't see him until after he leaves the campfire, which is a small ordeal because there are so few campers. They usually just roast marshmallows and tell jokes and play games where they go around the circle and makeup stories. Will leaves the campfire early because he is pretty depressed, he misses being able to wrap his arm around his boyfriend and hold him close.

When Will is walking back to his cabin and sees a lamp on through the Hades Cabin window Will becomes even more upset. Nico came back and didn't even try to look for Will? Nico would have known that Will was at the campfire. Not for the first time, Will wonders if Nico cares for him nearly as much as Will cares for Nico.

With a frown and damp eyes, Will strays from his path to the Apollo cabin to make his way up the steps of the Hades cabin. He just stands at the doors for a little bit contemplating if he should knock and bother Nico. Obviously, Nico doesn't want to see him or he would have already, maybe Will should just go to his cabin and wait for Nico to approach him.

Nico must have noticed someone at his door because before Will can make a decision on whether he should stay or go, the black door opens. Nico is standing there in skeleton pajama pants and a black t-shirt; his hair is damp like he just got out of the shower. Wills frown deepens because of the fact that he had time to shower means that he's been back for a while.

"Hey babe," Nico greets with a small smile. He leans against the frame of the door, not inviting Will inside. Will decides not to fret on that too much because it's dark now, and Dionisius has been getting more strict on the no visitors from other cabins after sundown rule.

"Hey," Will's voice sounds tight even to his own ears. Will contemplates just turning around and leaving because he didn't intend to come here to cry to Nico. It's not a surprise that he's getting emotional though. Will has been thinking about Nico all day and his mind in a constant whirlwind of am I not enough for Nico to stay? Does he even want to be with me anymore? Did I do something to make Nico want to go to the underworld more often? Am I overthinking everything? These thoughts circling around in his head have been making him insecure, he feels like a bad boyfriend and a bad person. The dam had to burst at some point.

"Is something wrong?" Nico asks. Voice still as soft as it was when he first opened the door, his eyebrows are scrunched together a little and he is looking at Will with genuine concern.

This brings about more thoughts: is Nico actually concerned or is this fake? Should I be second-guessing this? Am I sabotaging my relationship? Is _he _sabotaging our relationship by leaving so often?__

__Will doesn't spiral often, so this is hitting him extra hard._ _

__"I don't know," Will answers Nico's question with a sob. He could just spill everything to Nico but he feels like that would be too easy. Will feels like he should let Nico question it, try to figure out what's wrong on his own, and leave him hanging. Will isn't usually this childish, but he is always the one opening up and being honest. Will is always the one pulling answers and feelings out of Nico, it's his turn now._ _

__Nico steps out from his doorway and sits on the bench on the wall beside it. Nico pats beside him, encouraging Will to sit down too. The only light comes from the green fire from the torch above them and the little bit of light coming from the small fluorescent lamp inside of Nico's cabin._ _

__The second Will sits down Nico pulls him into his chest and whispers apologetically, "I'm sorry for leaving so much... and for missing our date today."_ _

__It takes all of his willpower to pull away from Nico's chest and curl in on himself. As much as he wants to be comforted by Nico, he's upset and he wants answers._ _

__Nico looks hurt when Will pulls away, Will just averts his eyes and asks, "Why have you been leaving so much? Are you avoiding me?"_ _

__When Nico hesitates Will knows immediately that his theory was correct. Nico is avoiding him. The tears that have been collecting in Will's eyes finally drip down his cheek, Will stands up from the bench, he gives Nico a hurt look before turning and walking down the three steps of Hades Cabin._ _

__Nico is quick to stand up and follow Will down the steps saying, "Will, can you stay here so I can explain?"_ _

__Will can't tell if Nico sounds desperate or annoyed, in his feelings of hurt he decides to interpret it as an annoyance._ _

__"What is there to explain, Nico?" Will turns around to face Nico, hurt written all over his face. Wills voice cracks when he says, "you obviously don't want to spend time with me. I'm not enough for you to stay anymore."_ _

__Will feels like there is a black hole in his chest, it's been trying to form all day, and only now does Will allow himself to acknowledge it. His chest hurt and he feels totally worthless all he is thinking is _bad boyfriend, not enough, bad boyfriend. _____

____"What? Will, no tha- Will." Nico seems to be at a loss for words, he reaches out for Will but he takes a step back. "Will, it's not you."_ _ _ _

____This feels a lot like a it's not you it's me moment. That's enough for Will to turn around and leave. He hears Nico call his name, but he doesn't make any attempt to follow him._ _ _ _

____If Will thought he was spiraling before he is definitely spiraling now. _He doesn't want me. I'm not enough. We're breaking up. _Will has a steady stream of tears rolling down his face when he makes it back to his cabin. Thankfully, Austin and Kayla are still at the campfire, so Will can take a shower and get ready for bed without being interrogated by his siblings.___ _ _ _

______-_ _ _ _ _ _

______Will stays in his cabin the next day. Kayla and Austin don't believe him when he says that he doesn't feel good, and though they try to push him for answers about what's wrong with him, Will just shuts them down. Thankfully, as children of Apollo, they are able to convince the other campers that Will actually doesn't feel good so he doesn't have to participate in camp activities._ _ _ _ _ _

______The bell for breakfast and lunch ring before there is a knock on the Apollo cabin door, "It's Nico."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Though Will didn't necessarily want him to come, he did expect it. Now that he has had time to think about the events of last night, Will does realize that he should have given Nico a chance to explain himself. It doesn't make him any less hurt though. Will still feels worthless, he feels like he's not enough like he's a bad boyfriend. Will doesn't invite him in but Nico opens the door and steps inside anyways._ _ _ _ _ _

______Instead of acknowledging Nico, Will just pulls the covers over his head and buries himself deeper into his bed. He hears Nico's footsteps approach him and feels the bed move where Nico sits down at the end of it._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Hey Will," Nico says. He hears Nico tapping the floor with his foot like he does when he's anxious. Will doesn't bring his head out from under the covers, he wants to hear what Nico has to say._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I don't know how to explain this." Nico's voice is small, and though Will can't see it he knows that Nico is twisting a strand of hair around his finger like he does when he's anxious. "I think that you think that I've been going to the underworld to avoid you... um, which is partially true. Hades does ask me to do things for him, but I could easily just say no and I don't. But I haven't been doing this becaus- because you aren't enough or because I don't want to spend time with you."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Nico's voice sounds tight. Will hasn't seen Nico cry often, but he knows that this is what he sounds like when he is crying. Nico clears his throat and continues, "I do want to spend time with you. I'm jus-"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Nico places his hand on Will's leg through the blanket. "Can you look at me, please? I want to make sure you hear this."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Will pulls the covers away from his face and sits up in his bed. He leans his back against the wall behind him. He was right, Nico is crying a little bit, his cheeks and nose are a bit red, and his hair seems to be messy. Will is sure that he doesn't look much better._ _ _ _ _ _

______Nico looks at Will in the eyes, they are damp and his usually brown eyes are basically black, blending in with his iris's. He looks like he wants to scoot closer to Will, but he keeps his distance._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I think I'm just scared, Will," Nico begins quietly. He looks away from Will and his eyes gaze at his hands in his lap where he is twisting his ring around his finger. "I've never been in a relationship and I never know if I'm doing anything right. I jus-"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Nico pauses again and takes a deep breath. Will knows that it's hard for Nico to talk about his feelings, he's spent most of his life keeping everything inside, only ever opening up to his late sister Bianca. When she died he retreated more, and only after the war with Gaea has he begun to open up to people. Will wants to pull Nico under the covers with him and hold him while they talk, but given last night Will isn't sure it's appropriate._ _ _ _ _ _

______"There isn't any one right way to be in a relationship," Will says during the pause. Will knew that Nico was a bit insecure about his lack of experience, he didn't think it was a big deal though because Will himself had only been in one other relationship. His feelings for that person was not as deep as his feelings for Nico. "You haven't done anything wrong, Neeks."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Nico doesn't look like he believes it, but he nods and continues speaking. "I just got scared, I guess. I started to second guess everything. When you spent that night in my cabin I began to wonder if we were moving too fast. That led to me thinking about how long we would be in a relationship for... forever? Surely you would get sick of me."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Will opens his mouth to speak and to tell him none of that is true, but Nico says, "Let me finish talking first."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Will nods and Nico adds, "I started going to the underworld and doing things for my father to get my mind off things, but I think that subconsciously I was trying to, I don't know, sabotage our relationship. Not even just our relationship, but like all of my connections to the mortal world. I'm sure you've noticed that I haven't been talking to Hazel or Reyna or any of the seven anymore."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Will did notice it. Some part of Will feels stupid and selfish for not connecting it to the current issue. Will was narcissistic to think that this was all about him and their relationship._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I'm not used to having people rely on me or even caring about me at all. Everything has been so peaceful all I was thinking was that this was too good to be true. Something was bound to go wrong so I thought, why not speed up the process? Everyone's going to get sick of me anyways. The underworld is just easier; no one cares about me down there, not really, and that's familiar to me, I guess. I just figured I could spend more and more time in the underworld, continue to break off my connections and go back to how it was. I seemed easier."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Nico puts his head in his hands to cover his face and his voice sounds tighter like he is on the verge of crying again when he says, "It's not any easier though. Now that I've gotten a taste of what it's like to be happy I can't go back to how it was before when I was alone. It hurts so much more now. All I can think about is Reyna's disappointment if she knew what was going on, or Hazel's concern. I knew you were upset too, I could see how sad you were every time I came back. It hurts so much I can't do it anymore."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Will hopes that he means he can't continue going back and forth from the underworld anymore and not that he can't keep living anymore. Will has heard enough though, he moves out from under his blankets and crawls on his bed a little bit to sit right beside Nico. He wraps his arm around Nico and pulls him close. He lets Nico lay his head on his shoulder._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Can I talk now?" Will want's to make sure Nico has gotten everything out before Will talks._ _ _ _ _ _

______Will feels Nico nod against his shoulder. Will takes a deep breath in. There is a lot to unpack. "First of all, I'm sorry about not listening to you last night. I was being selfish - a child."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"It's okay. You were hurt." Nico says, he moves a little so that he can grab Wills hand, fiddling with his fingers, "I'm kind of glad last night happened. It forced me to acknowledge everything, and you leaving allowed me to collect my thoughts."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Will still thinks that last night could have been handled more civilly. It would have probably saved Will a lot of heartache._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I'm also sorry that I didn't recognize how you were feeling earlier. I should have known something was up the second or third time you left. I let it go for too long," Will says. He doesn't let Nico add anything before saying, "I think that I am just as insecure about our relationship as you are. When you started spending more time in the underworld I assumed it was because I did something wrong or that you didn't like me anymore. I should have known it was more than that."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"You are literally so perfect," Nico says, pulling away from Will slightly so he can look Will in the eyes. "You never do anything wrong and you always know what to say. I lo-like you more than you even know."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Will blushes a little, "I feel the same about you, don't you see? To me you haven't ever done anything wrong, I won't just get sick of you."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Nico blushes too and nods. He may not believe Will's words, but he doesn't say anything else._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I want you to know that you deserve good things, Nico," Will says honestly. "You don't think you deserve to have friends or a boyfriend or happiness but you do. You deserve all of that and more."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Nico nods with a blush._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I want you to say it," Will says._ _ _ _ _ _

______Nico looks up at him confused and asks, "Say what?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Tell me that you deserve to be happy," Will says seriously. He hopes that if Nico starts to say it he might start to believe it._ _ _ _ _ _

______Nico nods and mutters, "I deserve to be happy."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Will grins and kisses Nico's nose. He wants Nico to say it louder and like he actually wants it, but he figures he has pushed it enough today._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Do you want to go kayak at the lake? I'll make up for yesterday," Nico says. He sounds like he is in a much better mood now that everything is off of his chest. Will feels better too._ _ _ _ _ _

______Will nods, "but can we just lay here for a minute. I want to just spend time with you alone before everyone bothers us. I missed you."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Nico nods and says, "I missed you too," before allowing Will to pull him under the covers of Will's bed._ _ _ _ _ _


End file.
